There is a lot of misinformation out there about the Affordable Care Act. Unfortunately, corporate-owned media no longer is the watchdog of government on behalf of the people, so they never ask tough questions of politicians who make these misleading and untrue statements.

For instance, right-wingers are busy pointing out that when the ACA is fully implemented, there will still be 31 million people uninsured. But they don’t tell you that’s down from 57 million under the previous system. Isn’t that better?

I bet those 26 million people think so. They can now get preventive medical care. The only way to cover everyone is with universal healthcare like the rest of the industrialized world. Do Republicans now want socialized medicine like they have in Europe?

Additionally, right-wingers don’t tell you that one-third of those 31 million people remain uninsured because Republican governors refuse to accept federal money to expand Medicaid, even though it would cost their states nothing.

So 10 million people are suffering and dying because they can’t get preventive medical care because Republican governors want to make a political point against a Democrat. They can’t be seen as weak against Obama, after all. They don’t care how many people die as long as they look tough.

Righties also point out that $500 billion was cut from Medicare, but naturally they don’t tell you those “cuts” are reinvested into Medicare and the ACA to improve and expand care for seniors and close the donut hole created under Bush. It does not cut benefits from Medicare Advantage, it strengthens it. More seniors will now be covered and be able to get preventive care.

There are no death panels. The Independent Payment Advisory Board is specifically prohibited by law from recommending any policies that ration care, raise taxes, increase premiums or cost-sharing, restrict benefits or modify who is eligible for Medicare. The IPAB is made up of doctors and patient advocates nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

In short, they are not death panels because they can’t restrict benefits or ration care. Insurance companies can no longer deny care for pre-existing conditions and cancel your coverage when you get sick. By being able to do those things in the past, the real death panels were the insurance companies that Republicans love so much.

As far as people leaving the workforce because they no longer have to work for health insurance, that will create jobs for nearly every job left (as one leaves a job, that job opens up for someone else) and will increase the quality of life for those who no longer have to work two or three jobs just to have health coverage. Isn’t better quality of life a good thing for everyone?

Page 2 of 2 - Instead of hysterically trying to undermine the law, we should ask why Republicans won’t work with Democrats to make the law better. Why is their only plan to repeal the law and go back to the way it was before?

If their plan is to keep some of the features of the ACA, why do they want to repeal the whole thing? Why are they so desperately spreading misinformation and outright lies? Their obstructionism is causing less people to be covered, which in turn will cause more unnecessary deaths because people won’t have access to preventive healthcare.

I guess you could say the only death panels now are the obstructionists in the Republican Party and their corporate handlers, who don’t care if people die as long as Republicans can score political points and stay in power.